Over the years I have not made any qualms about the fact that one of my favorite, if not my
favorite, eliminators is Competition Eliminator. I love everything about it, the cars, the drivers,
the varied approaches to the class and the huge diversity of drive-lines and engines that make up
this exciting eliminator. Competition Eliminator has been part of the NHRA national events for as
long as Top Fuel has and the very first winner was a drag racing legend, Tony Nancy. Since that
first race in 1963 there have been 263 different drivers win in Comp and there have been almost as
many engine and car combinations in the winner's circle, too. Some of the winners and season
champions are as well-known as some of their professional counterparts with names like Nickens,
Rampy, Fletcher, Lingenfelter and Maropulos among them. In the early years winners included George
Montgomery, Don Enriquez, Ben Griffin and Chico Breschini, and while they may not be on the lips of
contemporary drag race fans they are truly a great part of this class and this sport. My first real
exposure to the class came at the 1967 U.S. Nationals when I watched in awe as Joe Law waded
through a huge field of cars to beat Gary Sullivan in the final round. It was awesome! Today there
are wonderful cars with great drivers that still eat, sleep and breathe Competition Eliminator, and
if you want to see the best just visit Indy over Labor Day when, for the only time all year, the
field is full of sixty-four cars and one of the best of them will be Joey Tanksley.

Joey Tanksley vs. David Rampy in the 2009 Indy final.

"I have to say that one of my best memories of racing came at Indy in a race where I was
runner-up," Joey said. The year was 2009 and Joey and his brothers were at Indy trying to work
their way through the maze of cars that make Indy one of the best shows of the year. "Just to
qualify for that race is great, but to make it to the final round with a stick car is really
special," he added. After beating some of the best in the sport, including former Indy champs Larry
Pritchett and Jason Coan along with two-time Indy finalist Rick Brown, they found themselves paired
up with David Rampy for the final. "We got to the scales after the semi-final and they told us we
had thirty-five minutes before they would run the final." As brief as that seemed the news got even
worse a few minutes later. "We were back in the pits and Dale House came by and said that we only
had twenty minutes before they were going to run us. With what we normally do between rounds that
wasn't going to be enough time and I told my brothers we were done." Well, that didn't sit very
well with his brothers who grew up under the watchful eye of their father, a long time racer
himself. "My brothers said we could make it and we cut the clutch, replaced the valve springs and
made it to the starting line on time, and even though we lost it was a great effort and it taught
me never to give up."

Tanksley celebrates 2005 St. Louis win.

The simple fact that Joey was even racing was a testament to the fact that he was not a quitter. "I
had that nasty accident at the Gatornationals in 2000," he said. "It destroyed the car and broke my
collarbone and I thought I was done." But, inspired by his father, he came back even stronger than
before. "My dad was in Vietnam and he was in the 101st Airborne Division," Joey said. "He saw some
nasty things and when he came back and went to Fort Bragg, he and some friends heard some cars
racing and he said it was the sweetest sound he ever heard. He said that drag racing saved his life
because it made him forget about a lot of the things that happened overseas." Not surprisingly
Joey's father was a real inspiration in his life, both on and off the track. "I began going to the
races with him when I was about five or six years old. He had a car that ran in Super Stock, and
back then you would just hook a tow bar up to the car and haul it to the track." Those were the
good old days and Joey remembers them well. "We went to the old Dallas International track and dad
broke an axle in the car, and since we flat-towed it to the track we had to leave it there
overnight and come back for it the next day."

Tanksley had a big wheelstand at 2005 Houston race.

As much as the accident at Gainesville, another one at the Sportsnationals earlier this year with a
Super Stock car that he was driving for owner Charlie Burkett, and losing that Indy final hurt, it
all pales in comparison to the biggest loss in Joey's life. "My dad passed away a few weeks ago. I
was on the starting line at Houston for the points race at the exact time of his passing. When I
was driving to Houston last week for the race I looked over and he wasn't there and it really hit
me how much I was going to miss him." But before he passed the elder Tanksley gave Joey and his
brothers a few words of advice. "Live your life," he told us. "Go racing. It's a great part of your
life and I want you to keep doing it." That means the Comp racers will have Joey Tanksley to
contend with for quite some time and fans will have one of the best to watch for years to come.

Tanksley's '66 Chevy II

As much as he liked racing there was a time when Joey wasn't sure if he would be able to compete at
the level he wanted. "In 1985 I started out with an old Chevy II that I bought from a guy who had
it sitting in his yard. He wanted 1500 for it and I only had 500 at the time, so I asked him if he
would let me pay it off in installments and he said yes." And a drag racing career was born. Later,
after the crash in Gainesville, it looked like he might not be able to keep racing at all until
another man stepped in to help out. "I knew Steve Kent since he was a truck driver and we used to
bracket race together. When he asked me what I was going to do after the crash I told him I would
probably have to quit. He just looked at me and said that 'as long as I'm around you will have a
car to race.' He's a very special man."

Tanksley's dad's race car

Steve owns the car that Joey races today, a very competitive dragster that is the latest in a long
line of very successful cars campaigned by the Tanksley family. "It was originally a Mike Bos built
race car but Shane Heckel has done a lot of work on it, and I have to thank Jimmy Thibadeaux and
Chuck Haase for all of their help, too." When you add up his accomplishments it's easy to see why
Joey is considered among the best in the sport. He has been to eleven final rounds at the national
level, seventeen more at divisional races, been the Division 4 champion three times and a member of
the division's All Star team five times. "I've been very fortunate and I have to thank my brothers
and my wife for all of their help and support. And a special thanks to Steve and Trudy Kent,
Patterson Racing, CFE, Ace Clutches, Liberty's Gears, and Hoosier Tires." And of course his father
for all of his encouragement. "It just won't be the same at the races without him," Joey said. "But
we'll carry on because that's just what we do."